Jan 18 news LIVE: 300 Eklavya school students scale hostel wall to meet collector

Eight separate cases have been lodged at Chowk Police station in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi against those allegedly spreading AI-generated images and misleading information on social media regarding the redevelopment work at Manikarnika Ghat.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said strict action would be taken against those misleading the public on social media about the ongoing work at the historic ghat.

The cases have been registered against eight individuals and certain X handles under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Deputy Commissioner of Police Gaurav Bansal told the media.

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Thousands of people rallied in Serbia on Saturday (January 17) as university students announced a new stage in their struggle against President Aleksandar Vucic’s tenure. They have led more than a year of mass demonstrations that shook his autocratic government in the Balkan country.

Protesters in Novi Sad, chanting “thieves”, accused the government of rampant corruption that they believe also led to a November 2024 train station disaster in the northern city that killed 16 people and triggered the nationwide movement for change.

Vucic has refused to schedule an immediate early election that students have demanded. Hundreds of people have been detained, or reported losing their jobs or facing pressure for opposing the government.

Vucic came to power more than a decade ago, promising to take Serbia into the European Union. But he has since strengthened ties with Russia and China, while facing accusations of curbing democratic freedoms in Serbia and allowing corruption and organized crime to flourish.

The student movement has garnered big support among Serbs who are largely disillusioned with mainstream politicians. Vucic has accused the students of working under unspecified Western orders to “destroy Serbia.”

The next protest rally is planned for January 27 in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, organizers said.

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday (January 17) that he would charge a 10 per cent import tax starting in February on goods from eight European nations because of their opposition to American control of Greenland, setting up a potentially dangerous test of US partnerships in Europe.

Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland would face the tariff, Trump said in a social media post while at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida. The rate would climb to 25 per cent on June 1 if no deal was in place for “the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland” by the United States, he said.

There are immediate questions about how the White House could try to implement the tariffs because the EU is a single economic zone in terms of trading, according to a European diplomat.

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Upset over alleged poor food quality and other arrangements, over 300 students of a government residential school in Madhya Pradesh’s Harda district climbed their hostel wall on Saturday (January 17) and set out on foot to meet the collector.

Officials in the know told news agency PTI that the students from Eklavya Adarsh Aawasiya Vidyalaya in Rahatgaon, braving the biting cold in the morning, began walking towards the collectorate, located around 40 km away, to raise their grievances.

After the students had walked nearly eight to nine kilometres, Collector Siddharth Jain met them on the national highway at Sodalpur. He promised to resolve the students’ problems and sent them back to the school in buses, officials said.

The students alleged that the school had been facing a lack of basic facilities, the quality of food was poor, and the sanitation conditions were deplorable.

Eklavya Adarsh Aawasiya Vidyalayas (Eklavya Model Residential Schools) are government-run residential schools for Scheduled Tribe students, to provide quality education from Class VI to XII with a focus on their holistic development, according to officials.

The tribal students also claimed that when complaints were made in this regard, the hostel principal subjected them to mental harassment.

A student told reporters that they were forced to take this step since no action was taken despite their complaints.

During their interaction with the collector, the students demanded the removal of the principal.

Collector Jain assured the students that a parents’ committee would be formed to check food quality. He said a ‘contact committee’ would also be set up for quick redress of grievances, enabling the students to directly approach the collector or officials of the tribal affairs department.

Talking to reporters, Jain said complaints against the principal had surfaced.

He said, “Considering the children’s problems, I reached the spot. For now, the students have been persuaded to return. The matter will be investigated, and necessary action will be taken.”

The Odisha government has secured investment commitments and proposals worth around Rs 1 lakh crore during an investors’ roadshow in Kolkata.

Officials of the neighbouring state engaged with over 500 industrialists and business leaders as part of its outreach programme in the run-up to ‘Enterprise Odisha’, scheduled to be held on January 27-28 in Rourkela.

The ‘Odisha Investors’ Meet’ in Kolkata witnessed participation from industry representatives across multiple sectors, with the state government holding around 130 high-level meetings and sector-specific interactions with companies from manufacturing, metals, chemicals, textiles, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy and allied segments, an official release said.

During the engagements, 27 memoranda of understanding were signed involving a potential investment of Rs 81,864 crore, while 19 investment intent proposals amounting to Rs 18,453 crore were received, it said.

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi was also present at the roadshow.

Airlines regulator DGCA on Saturday (January 17) slapped on airline IndiGo penalties totalling Rs 22.20 crore for the massive flight disruptions in December, and warned CEO Pieter Elbers and two other senior executives for non-compliance.

It also directed the airline to furnish Rs 50-crore bank guarantee to ensure long-term systemic corrections.

Between December 3 and 5, the DGCA said, 2,507 flights were cancelled and 1,852 flights were delayed, impacting over 3 lakh passengers at airports across the country.

Announcing the enforcement actions after the detailed probe, DGCA cited over-optimisation of operations, inadequate regulatory preparedness, along with deficiencies in system software support as among primary reasons for the disruptions.

Shortcomings in management structure and operational control at IndiGo were also blamed.

The penalties are one of the biggest imposed by the regulator on any airline for flight disruptions, while other regulatory actions are also unprecedented.

IndiGo, in a statement, said it is “in receipt of the orders of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation of India” on the flight disruptions.

“.. the Board and the Management of IndiGo are committed to taking full cognizance of the orders and will, in a thoughtful and timely manner, take appropriate measures,” the airline said in the statement.

Additionally, it said, an “in-depth review” of the robustness and resilience of the internal processes at IndiGo has been underway since the disruptions to ensure that the airline emerges stronger out of these events".